FF Cancer Risk Cited in Bid to Reform Flame Retardant Standard

The chemicals in flame retardants used on furniture in California don’t do much to reduce the spread of a residential fire. They do, however, make that fire a whole lot more dangerous for anyone exposed to it … including firefighters.

CPF- and IAFF-supported efforts to end the use of these cancer-causing toxins to protect furniture in California got a boost from Governor Jerry Brown. Gov. Brown has issued a directive to state regulators instructing them to review and revise California’s decades-old flammability standard.

The current outdated flammability standard – known as Technical Bulletin 117 – virtually mandates the use of cancer-causing chemicals used in the foam of furniture in California.

The increasing use of highly flammable furniture coverings have made residential fires burn hotter, diminishing any potential fire retardant benefit. But the chemicals released in these fires contribute to a toxic mixture that threatens the health of anyone caught inside – fire victims and firefighters alike.

“Countless studies document the increased cancer risk faced by firefighters because of on-the-job chemical exposure,” said Lou Paulson, president of California Professional Firefighters. “The combustion by-products created by fires involving flame retardants can make these fires even more deadly.”